


Sweet Neptune

by percyjacksonistheprince



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, percy jackson - Fandom
Genre: Cake, Cake Wars, Cupcake - Freeform, F/M, M/M, bakeshop AU, baking au, sweets
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-26
Updated: 2019-04-10
Packaged: 2019-06-16 09:05:01
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 10,701
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15433626
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/percyjacksonistheprince/pseuds/percyjacksonistheprince
Summary: Percy Jackson’s bakery Sweet Neptune has been open for eight months. He wakes up so early just so that he can make everyone’s lives a little sweeter. Because of his astounding skills in the kitchen, he was invited to compete in Cake Wars.Annabeth Chase, architect of the Olympus Hotel and co-curator of the National Museum of History. She’s been doing some small scale renovations over there so that more people would be enticed to go. She’s even designed a new wing.Food Network offered to have the winner of that week’s Cake War make a cake that would commemorate the opening of a new wing in the National Museum of History which is all about war veterans and their families. It was a tribute to their sacrifice and hard work.Annabeth Chase was invited to judge that Cake War.What other sweet things can the winner get?





	1. Chapter 1

-LINE BREAK-

 

“And… we’re done!” Percy smiled at Grover and Tyson, co-owners of the Sweet Neptune bakery in New York City. Percy flipped the sign at the door, so the wooden sign read, “Closed” instead of, “Sailing” in blue calligraphy. 

 

“That wasn't so bad right?” Percy said, noticing the tired looks on their faces. 

 

“Percy.” Grover said as he slumped on the cash register. “Do me a favor and please stop being so positive. Just… be normal.”

 

Percy sighed in defeat and sat down on a chair. “Yeah.” He leaned back. “I’m beat.” He blew a stray strand of hair out of his face. He hasn’t cut his hair in a while, a few more weeks and he can tie it back.  “Today was such a wild day.”

 

“Too many people.” Tyson said thoughtfully. “Bcause Sweet Neptune is getting popular.”

 

Percy had a lopsided, nearly drunken smile on his face. “Yeah.” He looked up and smiled wider, genuinely happy with how much business they were getting. 

 

It was true though, Sweet Neptune has only been open for the past eight months, but its wide range of products made it rise in popularity. It may also have something to do with their prime location, their charming and attractive staff and, the over all aesthetic of the shop. 

 

The shop kind of reminds people of a worn down cottage beside the sea. The kind that stood the test of time. Percy, Grover and Tyson had designed it to look that way. They believed that it would give a cozy and welcoming feel to the shop. 

 

Since Grover is such an environmentalist, he had the exterior and interior aesthetic be made of repurposed wood. The color pallet was picked by Percy, it was in shades of blue, ranging from light to dark. The decorations were picked by Percy’s half brother Tyson. They were things you found at sea, fishing nets, shells, fake corals and fish, ships in bottles and other things he found interesting. One of those interesting things was a bunch bronze hippocampi, which Tyson had made himself. Percy was so proud of his brother and he found the hippocampi so beautiful that he hung them on the ceiling and based the designs off of  them. The ceiling was painted to look like the ocean, so those half-horse half-fish look like they’re swimming, most especially when a gust of wind from an open door causes them to sway around. 

 

“You guys can go home. I can close up.” Percy said.

 

“You sure Percy?” Grover said with a big yawn. “I could help-”

 

“No G-man.” Percy shook his head and looked at his best friend. “Go home. Juniper is probably waiting for you, besides… you don't want to worry a pregnant woman would you?” He raised an eyebrow. 

 

Grover opened his mouth to protest, quickly realizing how futile arguing would be. Percy and Grover knew firsthand how bad it would be to be on the receiving end of Juniper’s fussing and worrying. 

 

“And you Ty.” Percy looked at his half-brother. “Go home to dad. I'm pretty sure he wouldn't like you not studying on a school night. Plus, it's getting late.”

 

“But brother, you still have to clean and prepare for tomorrow.” Tyson’s big brown eyes were filled with concern. 

 

“It's alright. I live here anyway.” Percy chin pointed to the back. “There's a bed and everything back there.”

 

“You sure Percy?” Grover asked again. “You sure you're sure?”

 

“Yeah I'm sure.” He rolled his eyes at his two stubborn friends. “Come on guys, there are other chances for you help me clean up. I'll just make you clean up during your shift or something.” That was a lie, Percy would do it for them because he was a nice and loyal like that. 

 

“Okay then…” Grover looked at Tyson. “You want me to walk you home big guy?”

 

Percy nodded at his brother, encouraging him to go. 

 

“Sure.” Tyson said, gave one last look at Percy and then went out with Grover. 

 

“Tell Juniper I said hi!” Percy held the door open with his foot. “And tell her to name the kid Percy!”

 

“No way!” Grover yelled back as he and Tyson disappeared from sight. 

 

Percy chuckled and rubbed his chin, feeling a little bit of stubble. He also realized that he also hasn't been able to shave for a while. It must have been his busy schedule. He sighed and leaned back once more on the chair after he locked the door and pulled down the blinds. He stared at his shop, his bakery, and took it all in. He was still so amused (and amazed) that he was able to do all of this and build something amazing from the ground up. At a young age of 25 (his birthday was just a month ago), he was thankful for this level of success. 

 

The idea of Sweet Neptune came from his high school bake sale. It was his batch’s fundraiser/project. The students were divided into groups of four or five and they were tasked to sell baked goods. Half the proceeds would go to the Batch while the other half would go to the charity of the group’s choosing. 

 

Percy was undoubtedly excited for this, mostly because he would be able to donate to an organization that helps kids with mental disorders. He would finally be able to help Tyson and all the other kids at the SPED school nearby. He grouped up with his best friend Grover and three of his other friends.

 

Some part of the group just wanted to buy from the grocery and resell, but Percy would have none of that. He wanted to put maximum effort into something like this. Even if he didn't know how to bake, he figured he’s seen his mom make enough blue cookies. Therefore, he could at least figure out how to replicate them. His groupmates, except Grover, didn't want to bake, so he was determined to go above and beyond for this. 

 

He was quick to create a battle plan- menu in other words. They would have blue chocolate chip cookies, simple vanilla cupcakes with marshmallow icing and brownies. The group approved of it, and with a smile on his face he immediately went to work- while dragging a very reluctant Grover. 

 

Turned out, Percy wasn't bad at baking. In fact, he made the second most (oh cut him some slack, the one who made the most had bakers for parents and had training) amount of money at the bake sale. People then started coming to Percy and order some of his baked goods. He and Grover made some profit out of that. 

 

Since then, he decided that he would become a baker because 1.) he enjoyed it and 2.) he was good at it. After high school he went to college. He went to culinary school. He worked while he was at it because he didn't want his mom to pay for the whole thing and neither did he want his step-father to do the same. He also was saving up for that bakery he dreamed about. 

 

He wasn't as good at cooking, but he excelled in baking. He loved the smell of goods in the oven and the smell of vanilla and syrup and strawberries and he loved the way fondant could cover a cake so smoothly and the feel of powdered sugar between his fingers and the way sugar gardens into beautiful glass and… well the list can go on and on. When he graduated, he worked at a place where kids can enroll for summer cooking or baking lessons. It was a way for him to make more money and a way for him to share his talents with kids who also wanted to have a future in the culinary world. (He wasn’t about to brag, but one of the kids he taught made it to the top 8 of Masterchef Junior). 

 

After that job, he jumped around from bakery to bakery, learning what he could while gaining all the possible experience. He worked in many different bakeries, each one presenting him with a different style and vibe that he can make into his own. He had also learned the hard way that you have to be quick and efficient when performing a task such as these. A few years after, he accumulated enough money to buy a property (building rather) for his bakeshop, and with the help of his stepdad, mom and actual dad, he was able to put up Sweet Neptune. He was still in debt to his family (okay, maybe he didn’t actually pay for the entire property) even if they told him he doesn’t have to pay them back. (But he will, somehow.)

 

Percy loves the sea, he loves the smell of it, the breeze, and the colors you can see. It may seem like it is just blue on the surface, nothing but a large expanse of water, but if you allow yourself to be submerged, you will find an entire world of wonder. That is why Percy chose the ocean to be his inspiration for everything he bakes, he wants that when you really get into anything Percy made, you should have a smile on your face. He loves hearing the “mmmm” of customers when they eat his cupcakes, or watching the young kids lick the icing off the wrapper, or just watching anyone bite slowly into a cupcake and just close their eyes and savor the flavor. 

 

He also loves it when he makes a cake, decorates it and presents it to those who ordered it. Despite what others might think, Percy has an eye for design. In eight months it’s been open, Sweet Neptune has made several wedding cakes, birthday cakes, and cakes in general. He has his favourite designs and flavours replicated so that people can buy them per slice or as a whole cake. His personal favorite is the blue vanilla cake with seven layers of hombre blue inside and white and blue fondant painted and decorated to look like the sea. It had those little pipe designs called seashells at the bottom and blue roses on top. 

 

He also gets creative. He has his large macaroons, chocolate brownies with sea salt and bits of seaweed sprinkled on top, lemon squares with blue powdered sugar, sugar cookies decorated with whatever great movie or franchise or anything popular. He is especially proud of his Star Wars ones. 

 

Percy has been doing all of that work for eight months, from ten in the morning to eight in the evening each and every day. He actually starts working at 5:00AM after he wakes up at 4:30AM and ends at around 10PM, but 8AM-8PM are his official working hours. Of course this work is made easier by Grover and Tyson, who help him a lot by helping him fix his mistakes. Also his mom and both his dads, but they don’t stay around for long since they have their own work to do. Percy also always cleans up after everyone, and he has to make sure he does a good job because a surprise inspection could be around the corner. 

 

Speaking of which… 

 

Percy sighed and got up from his chair and went over to the counter to start wiping all the crumbs. He brought out his phone and played his usual cleaning up playlist. He then grabbed his broom and started sweeping. 

 

-LINE BREAK-

 

At ten and when the place was as clean as it could be, Percy climbed up the stairs hidden in the back and went up to the third floor (because the second floor is the storage space) which he converted to his own personal living space. 

 

He cleaned up, brushed his teeth, and then promptly collapsed in bed. He looked at his phone, made sure that the alarm was set for 4:30AM, and then fell asleep. 

 

Though for some reason, he had failed to see that he had a new email that would have presented him with wonderful opportunities. 

 

-LINE BREAK-

 

Annabeth Chase despised emergency meetings. She hates hearing that oh something went wrong, or oh something was stolen, or oh someone didn’t show up or oh a delivery didn’t come on time or oh we’re going to have to push back the date of the opening of the hotel again and blah blah blah blah. She hated it, which was why she was in a particularly bad mood as she tromped down the streets of New York.

 

She was the daughter of Fredrick Chase, curator of the National Museum of History. Although she was his co-curator, most of her time and effort was spent in her architectural pursuits. She was the architect, the head architect of Olympus Hotel, so naturally she had to supervise whatever was happening. 

 

She graduated from the University of New York with a bachelor’s degree in architecture. She was the top her her class, surpassing anyone and everyone. Her teachers speak highly of her and her peers remain in awe of her, which is why she was able to find work immediately after college. (Co-curator of the National Museum of History does not count as a job) 

 

Of course, during her actual college education, she did internships and helped design some buildings and some other small projects. She’s a bit of an overachiever. 

 

Architecture is her passion. Ever since she was young, she would draw building designs or plans for entire cities or resorts. She just simply loved the idea of being able to create something that would have her written all over it. That she could take credit for the idea that became a reality. It can be seen that even in her crude, elementary drawings, she had an affinity to uniqueness- something the world needs. She wanted something permanent, something that would stand the test of time and be remembered as something remarkable.

 

She did multiple projects for the past years until she got her big break. She was tasked to design a hotel for Zeus, the billionaire playboy businessman, because he was interested in expanding his empire. (She also chose to ignore the fact that he specifically instructed her to allocate an entire floor for himself). She took up the job immediately and set to work. She had to design the exterior, figure some parts of the interior while closely working with the head engineer, the head interior designer, head electrician and other incredibly relevant jobs. They would either come up with something notable or they would dissolve into arguing until they would have to call up Zeus as a last result. 

 

Today however, wasn’t about the hotel at all. Those under her who are working at the hotel are good, competent workers, workers that knew how to use their critical thinking and analytical minds. The ones at the museum however, not so much. She had to rush to the museum today because they couldn’t seem to fit a piece of the exhibit (tank) through the back entrance of the wing. Annabeth specifically said that the back entrance was supposed to be large enough to allow those types of display pieces. She might have not noticed that her words went unheeded because she was double tasking. There were two options, they were going to have to break down the back entrance, let the boxed tank through the entrance, or get a bunch of professionals to break the tank down and place it back together again.

 

Second one would be too costly and take too long. (She checked before leaving the apartment and his she tried to compromise with her dad’s army friends). They would have to go with the first one. She didn’t want to destroy the back door though because it was so carefully concealed and well placed that it would have hurt to make it move. 

 

She felt pressure in her head and knew that it was the sign of an impending headache. She didn’t even eat  _ breakfast  _ before leaving her apartment. Then again, she never  _ eats  _ anything. She usually just grabs food from the food table she sets up for her workers. 

 

Though sometimes, when she felt like a day was going to be particularly bad, she goes to bakeries and buys the guiltiest things. 

 

Today, she was sure that it was going to be a bad day. So when she saw a bakery that appealed to her, she wasted no time in going inside. She briefly registered the sign in blue calligraphy that had the word ‘sailing’ written on it instead of the usual open. 

 

The first thing that hit her was the smell. It wasn’t your typical sweet smell, it smelled like the sea. She couldn’t tell if it was from the air freshener they used it some sort of candles they put out, but it smelled like the sea. If she closed her eyes she could imagine herself being surrounded by the salty air that the sea always brought. The store itself reminded her of a cabin beside the ocean. She noticed the creatively used reclaimed wood and different boat decorations hung up on the walls. She saw the flags, ships in a bottle, float rings, nets, fish and starfish and many more. 

 

She looked up and saw the beautifully painted ceiling and the wonderfully handcrafted bronze hippocampi hanging from it. She liked the palett of the entire shop. There were varying shades of blue. The floor was made of dark hardwood that looked like it had seen better days, but it added to the overall aesthetic of the shop. 

 

The chairs were a hodgepodge of fisherman’s or boat captain’s chairs, small barrels, wooden chairs and the like. The tables were either round or square brown wooden ones or crates. She found the idea of a net being used as a table cloth on some of the tables amusing. 

 

She walked deeper inside and was surprised to find the line not to be as long as she thought it would be. Then again, it was 8:00 in the morning, and from the cute sign she saw in front, she knew the shop just opened. 

 

The display at the window and at the front were like that of the typical bakery, but it seemed to have a wider array of products, which were of course, sea themed.

 

She did like the big cake in the front though (which she suspected wasn’t actually cake), it was a seven tier cake that had clearly drawn inspiration from the lost city Atlantis and from Greek architecture. 

 

That was something Annabeth could approve of.

 

She waited in line and ignored the buzzing of her phone. If she looked at it now, she was just going to be upset about a lot of things. All she needed now was something sweet to counteract the bad taste of the day she was going to have. 

 

She looked at the menu written on a chalkboard behind the counter and wondered what could she possibly get from such a wide array of products. There was too much. There were even some savory pastries that sparked her attention. Pork floss and seaweed roll? She’d have to try that one time. Sea salt caramel cupcake? She practically felt her mouth water. Blue chocolate cream pie? Blue triple chocolate chip cookies? Vanilla cupcakes? It was going to be a tough choice. She decided she would get whatever baked good she said at the counter would be it. 

 

She shuffled forward until she reached the counter. 

 

-LINE BREAK-

 

Percy wasn’t expecting to meet a pretty girl today. He was just expecting to have a normal day and not have himself look like a fool.

 

But of course, things happen.

 

Percy was in the back, icing some of his favorite sea salt caramel cupcakes with the smooth buttercream. He then took the tray with the finished cupcakes and placed it in the front of the display case one-by-one carefully. Last time he was rushing, he practically ruined the icing and had to redo everything just as someone ordered a box of twelve. 

 

Grover was at the counter, taking orders and  getting and packaging the goods himself. (Percy couldn’t exactly afford to hire someone outside his friends and family, nor could he hire anyone more at all.) Percy was about to go back to the back to get the blueberry muffins that were almost done baking when he glanced over at Grover and saw that he was talking to...

 

“Welcome to Sweet Neptune!” Grover smiled at her. “What will you be having today?”

 

The girl opened her mouth, but nothing came out of it. She furrowed her eyebrows slightly. “I’m not sure. It’s my first time here and all.” She paused. “Got anything warm?” 

 

“I’ll ask.” Grover elbowed Percy. “Got anything fresh back there?”

 

“Um…” Percy made eye contact with the girl and it took everything in his very limited power to not panic. 

 

She was beautiful. She had blond hair curled like a princess’s, intimidating grey eyes and pink lips. She had a gaze that was both scary and alluring. She wore minimal make-up, but he could imagine she was still so incredibly beautiful under that. She had an athletic frame that was highlighted by her fitted green t-shirt, ripped denim jacket and skinny jeans. Her collarbone just peeled out from her shirt collar and… 

 

Percy realized that he had been at a loss for words for about seven seconds. He tried not to visibly shake himself out of his momentary trance. 

 

“Hi um…yeah I have some blueberry muffins baking in the oven. Do you want one of them?” Percy asked, hoping he didn’t sound like a fool.

 

“I’ll take two since I think I’m going to have a rough day.” She said immediately after he asked, without hesitation. 

 

_ Wow.  _ Percy thought.  _ Even her voice is beautiful.  _ The girl’s voice wasn’t an annoying high voice that most girls used with him, and it wasn’t low and scary either. It was… Percy could only imagine it as an authoritative voice that could be changed according to the situation. He was sure that if she asked him anything, he’d do anything to make her happy.

 

Percy might have been staring again.  He blinked twice before answer. “Yeah sure. I’ll get those.” He bit the corner of his lip and then opened his mouth to say more, but Grover beat him to it.

 

“That would be $4.50.” Grover punched it in the register. 

 

Percy tried walking smoothly to the back, but ended up tripping over the mop that was holding the kitchen door open and dropping his empty tray. He looked back at the girl at the counter and saw that her eyes were glittering with amusement. He resisted the urge to slap himself. It was cliche, but he was acting like an idiot. He had to fix himself. He was out of practice, since his last relationship was in high school with a Rachel Elizabeth Dare. They separated on good terms because they came to a mutual agreement. They were still good friends and they kept in touch. Proof of that was the ceiling of the bakery, it was Rachel who painted it. (She was an art student and is now a freelance artist and an art teacher.) 

 

Percy hadn’t flirted or dated anyone ever since, so he was completely out of practice. 

 

He also almost forgot his oven mitts when taking out his muffins… but he didn’t and that’s what mattered. He took it out, got two muffins and placed one on a plate while the other he placed in a small brown paper bag. 

 

He went back out from the kitchen and was met by a look from Grover. 

 

“What?” 

 

“Dude please. Don’t… don’t mess up.”

 

“I won’t!” Immediately after he said that he almost tripped over the mop again. “This mop is always appearing in front of me.”

 

“Maybe it’s telling you to clean up your act.” Grover answered back and then returned his attention to the line of customers.

 

Percy rolled his eyes then walked to where the girl was sitting. 

 

“Hey.” Percy said and put the plate down. “Blueberry muffin.” He then put the brown paper bag down. “And another one. I thought might’ve wanted the second one to go.”

 

Annabeth blinked. “Yeah actually. Thank you.”

 

“No problem.” Percy put his hands in his pockets. “So… first time at Sweet Neptune?”

 

“I think you would have noticed if it was my first time.” She gave him a small smile and slowly unwrapped her muffin. She didn’t tear it off like other people, she peeled off the whole thing carefully. 

 

Percy tried not to turn red. “Yeah um… well I usually stay in the back and bake so… I’m not sure you know if you’ve been here.”

 

“I’ve never been here.” She looked around. “But I love the design.” She looked back at him with those piercing grey eyes. “Who did it?” 

 

“Well, it was a collaboration of some sorts.” Percy scratched the stubble on his chin. He should really shave. “Tyson, my half-brother, did all the hippocampi on the ceiling and brought in all the decor. Grover Underwood, the cashier guy, made sure that I used reclaimed wood for the walls and found the flooring. I did tables and chairs and obviously the food and overall supervision. My friend Rachel Dare-“

 

“Rachel?” She blinked in rapid succession as if her brain gliched or something. “Rachel Dare?”

 

“Why? You know her?” Percy started to get nervous. Of course this girl would know his ex. Of course. 

 

“She’s doing some paintings for Olympus Hotel… and she did some for the new exhibit opening at the museum.” She furrowed her eyebrows at little bit. “I met her like, two years ago during an architecture seminar. She was…” She waved her hand as if she was trying to conjure up the right word. “I’m not sure… but let’s go with interesting.” 

 

“That pretty much explains her.” Percy muttered. He did remember Rachel mentioning doing some stuff for the museum. “She’s really good, so I hope you like her work.” 

 

“I hope so too. Her paintings are getting to the museum today.” The girl lifted the muffin to her mouth and took a bite. Her eyes widened as she chewed and swallowed. “Wow.”

 

Percy tried to keep the growing smile at bay. “Thanks.”

_ She likes them!!! With luck she could be a regular… _

 

“These are incredible.” She said when she swallowed.

 

“Thanks.” Percy said again. “They’re one of my favorites.”

 

“Because they’re kinda blue?”

 

“Yeah that and well,” he scratched the back of his head. “My Mom used to make those for me. Thought I’d up my game a little bit.” He smiled at the memory. “But… nothing’s is gonna beat her’s, no matter how hard I try.”

 

She gave a small laugh and Percy’s heart warmed. “That’s cute.”

 

There was an awkward silence for a bit.

 

“So…” The girl said after swallowing another bite. “Does the baker have a name?”

 

Percy must have zoned out because it took him a while to reply. “What?”

 

“And a brain full of seaweed.” She teased him, her eyes sparkled. “Name?”

 

He blinked and took a full three seconds before responding. “Uh… Percy. Percy Jackson.”

 

“Percy.” She looked him up and down. “You seem like a Percy.” She offered him her hand. “Nice to meet you. I’m Annabeth.” 

 

“Annabeth.” He repeated. He took in her golden curls and beautiful grey eyes. “Pleasure is all mine.” He shook her hand. He felt something like an electric current through his arm, which made his heart beat faster. 

 

Their hands stayed connected for a moment too long. Percy and Annabeth drew away, but their eye contact remained. They looked at each other for a while, then Annabeth opened her mouth to say something, but Grover interupted them.

 

“Percy! I don’t pay you for talking to the customers!”

 

Percy groaned and rolled his eyes. “Well, I don’t pay you to tell me you don’t pay me because you don’t pay me and I pay you!”

 

Grover blinked. “Get your sorry ass back in the kitchen.”

 

Percy looked back at her. “I hope I’ll see you around here more often.”

 

“Keep making more of the good stuff.” Annabeth said and smiled. “I’ll be back.”

 

“Great. You’re gonna like it so much, that you’re gonna be a regular.” Percy said as we walked backwards.

 

“We’ll see.”

 

He smiled at her then turned and proceeded to walk back to the kitchen.

 

He managed not to trip this time.

 

-LINE BREAK-

 

Annabeth finished her muffin then went out the door, sparing a glance at the counter. Percy Jackson was there again, placing his goods inside the display case.

 

When she looked at the guy the first time, she thought he had that kind of look. She thought it was the kind of look that probably drove people crazy. He had that scruffy beard, that wonderful twinkle in his sea green eyes and that irritatingly cute smirk. When he spoke for the first time, she thought he was kind of goofy, but endearingly so. When they had a conversation, she found herself liking him a bit more than usual.

 

As she walked to the museum, her phone rang. She picked it up. “Hello?”

 

“Hey.” The voice on the other end of the line sounded very _ chill _ , since he started off with that word. If she was going to place that voice on a person, it would probably be a freestyle theater performer. 

 

“I’m Phoebus from Food Network.” He continued.

 

She was so confused and double checked the caller ID just to make sure not one of her friends was prancing her.

 

“I was wondering,” Phoebus continued, his voice gaining some excitement, “if you were interested in being on Cake Wars next month.” 

 

Annabeth stopped dead in her tracks, but then she had to move immediately because it was New York and she was holding up the people traffic. “I’m sorry. What?”

 

“The new exhibit is opening next month right? At the National Museum?”

 

“Yes…?” She was still very confused. “Why are you calling me?”

 

“I understand you are very busy but, would you mind showing up on Cake Wars? You know Cake Wars right?”

 

“Of course.”

 

“Then you must know that the winner gets to showcase his or her group’s cake at an event.”

 

Annabeth put the pieces together. “So you want me to be on the show so that I can be a judge for the Cake War because the winner’s cake will be for the opening.”

 

She heard a snap at the other end of the line. “Exactly Miss Chase! Exactly! So what do you say?”

 

Annabeth thought about it for a while. “I’m not sure. I will call you later. I need to clarify things with the curator first.”

 

“Of course Miss Chase. That’s not a problem at all. I need an answer by today of course.”

 

“That won’t be a problem Phoebus.” Annabeth smiled. “Thank you.”

 

“No problemo Miss Chase. Have a good day.” Phoebus then hung up.

 

Annabeth started at her phone for a while then shook her head. Logically, she should take it because not only will it promote the exhibit, it will also provide her with an amazing cake that commemorates the event.

 

She stuffed her phone back in her pocket and kept on walking. She would have to deal with one problem at a time. She has to deal with that museum exhibit if she wanted it to be open to the public by next month. 

 

-LINE BREAK-

 

When the problem was resolved and Annabeth had figured out how to hide the even bigger back door, she went to her father’s office.

 

“Hey Dad.” Annabeth said as she walked in.

 

“Annabeth!” Her father quickly put down the biplane he was playing with. “How’s the exhibit going?” He cringed as she sat down tiredly on the chair in front of his desk. “Not well?”

 

“Oh the exhibit’s fine. It’s the workers that concern me.”

 

Fredrick sighed. “Yes, I know they’re not your usual top of the line… but I know you can manage.”

 

Annabeth managed a weak smile. “Thanks dad.”

 

“But… knowing you, you wouldn’t visit your old man if you didn’t have something important to tell me.”

 

Annabeth blinked, knowing that she owed her perceptiveness to her father. “Yeah actually.” She straightened up a bit. “Phoebus Apollo called me earlier. He’s from Food Network and…”

 

“They want to have the winner have his or her cake here I know.”

 

Annabeth blinked again. 

 

“Oh, they called you because I told them to. The exhibit isn’t my territory anymore. I’m just there to make sure that the exhibits are historically correct. They wanted me to judge, but… like I said, it isn’t my territory so…”

 

“I guess I can just tell Phoebus that it’s okay?”

 

“Your exhibit, not mine.”

 

“Your museum, not mine.” Annabeth crosses her arms. 

 

Frederick winked at her. “Touché. You go and do what you think is right.” 

 

Annabeth stood up. “Thanks Dad.” She went around the desk and gave him a kiss on the cheek. “I’ll be at Olympus if you need me.”

 

“Bye Annabeth!” 

 

Annabeth walked out the door and gathered all her stuff. When that was done, she pulled out her phone and called Phoebus. He answered on the second ring.

 

“Hey! Isn’t it Miss Chase! How are you?”

 

“I agree Phoebus. I’ll be on the show.”

 

“Great! Thank you! Now, just so you know, we won’t be revealing the bakeries just so you won’t scout them out yourself and become biased.”

 

“I wouldn’t have it any other way.” Annabeth shouldered her laptop bag. “Just please send me the schedule and I’ll be there.”

 

“Alright Miss Chase! Thank you again for agreeing.”

 

“The pleasure is all mine.” Annabeth hung up and picked up the rest of her stuff. 

 

She looked at her phone and fought herself so that she wouldn’t throw the phone at the wall. There was a problem in Olympus. The statues arrived with plaster bases and marble figures. She’d have to focus on one thing at a time. 

 

-LINE BREAK-

 

Percy sighed, relieved that it was break. He usually doesn’t give himself a rest, but Grover was extra pushy today, so he gave in. 

 

Percy sat down in a chair in the corner of the kitchen and opened his phone. He checked through the usual, the Sweet Neptune Instagram, his personal Instagram, his Facebook, Messenger, and both Sweet Neptune and his Snapchat. He snapped a picture of his kitchen and placed it on the story of Sweet Neptune. He typed in: ‘what a mess merp’ and posted it.

 

He then checked Sweet Neptune’s email. He usually doesn’t get any other mail besides orders and inquiries, so he was quite surprised to see mail from Food Network in his inbox. He checked the date and saw that it was sent last night. He was sure it was probably spam, but something told him that he would have to open it. So he did. 

 

Percy’s eyes widened as he read through it. 

 

_ Dear Mr. Jackson,  _

 

_ My name is Phoebus and I am from Food Network Studios. I am emailing you to invite you to participate in an episode of Cake Wars next month on the 30th of September. Your shop has caught the attention of the Network. The winner will be showcasing his or her winning piece at the opening of the new exhibit at the National Museum and will receive $15,000 as a cash prize. You are allowed to bring two (2) other people with you on the show. Preferably they are also experienced in baking.  _

 

_ Please reply within twenty-four (24) hours or your slot will be forfeited.  _

 

_ Thank you for your time.  _

 

_ Phoebus Apollo _

_ Communications Department _

_ Food Network Studios  _

 

Percy checked the time. He had an hour left to make his decision. 

 

Oh shit.

 

He had an hour to make his decision. He scrambled to his feet and quickly made his way to Grover.

 

“Grover!” He said and grabbed his best friend’s shoulder.

 

“Percy!” Grover’s widened as Percy spun him around and gripped his shoulders. “Why do you look like you’ve seen a ghost? And you’re supposed to be on break!”

 

“IgotanemailfromfoodnetworkandtheywantusonCakeWars!!!!” Percy said so fast that his words blended together.

 

“What?” Grover put his hands on Percy’s shoulders. “Breathe man. Breathe. Slow down. I can’t understand-“

 

“Food Network wants us to be on Cake Wars next month. I have an hour to make my decision. The winner gets to display his or her cake at the opening of the new exhibit of the museum…. and $15,000.”

 

Grover’s eyes widened even more. “No way.”

 

“Way.” Percy removed his hands from Grover’s shoulders. “So what do I say?”

 

Grover blinked and then shook Percy. “Don’t be an idiot. Say yes of course! Imagine Percy! 15K! That would help pay off some of your debt and help us out here. Besides, even if you don’t win, it’s still great publicity.” Grover pushed him slightly and let his arms drop. 

 

Percy looked at his phone and took a deep breath. “Okay. Here goes nothing.” He started typing. Grover looked at his phone as he replied.

 

_ Dear Mr. Apollo _

 

_ Yes, Sweet Neptune is willing to participate in the episode. May I also request that you please send the list of requirements and their respective due dates. Thank you. _

 

_ Perseus Jackson _

_ Founder  _

_ Sweet Neptune Bakery _

 

He let Grover read it first just to make sure he didn’t sound like a total idiot. 

 

“Aaaaaaand send!” Percy presses the send button and pulled Grover in for a hug. “This is going to be great man!” He smiled brilliantly. 

 

Grover hugged him back then pulled away. “We have to prepare man! We have to have someone watching the shop-“

 

“My Mom.”

 

“We need a third person-“

 

“My brother.”

 

“Okay then.” Grover nodded repeatedly. Then his eyebrows furrowed. “We’re good… I think.”

 

Just then, the door opened and more customers poured in, all of them making a beeline for the counter.

 

“Of course we are.” Percy smiled and patted Grover on the shoulder. “I’m gonna go eat a cupcake.” He thumb pointed to the customers and then snapped and pointed back at Grover. “You keep working.”

 

“Hey!” Grover said indignantly. 

 

“You put me on break remember?” Percy turned around and grinned at the sound of Grover’s groan. 

 

Percy then went to the fridge and grabbed one of the old cupcakes from two days ago. It was a blue vanilla cupcake with salted caramel icing topped with sea salt. He peeled back the wrapper and ate it. It wasn’t soft anymore, it was dense and kind of dry. The icing had the wrong consistency and it kind of tasted like a refrigerator. The cupcake is more suited for the cake pops that last a lifetime, but nevertheless, it was a pretty good celebration. Percy was excited, like out of bounds excited. He was going to be on TV with his best friend and his brother with the chance to win 15,000 and a chance to expose Sweet Neptune more.

 

He supposed it would have to be a secret, but… damn. This was going to be a hard one to keep, especially since he was so excited. He should just tell his dad, and his stepdad, and his mom and his brother… he took his phone out once he finished the cupcake and started texting. 


	2. Chapter 2

 

Annabeth always went to Sweet Neptune. She didn’t go everyday because that would be bad for her waistline, but she went twice or thrice a week, and she would always end up talking to Percy. 

 

When she came back the week after she first visited, it was like Percy’s face lit up like a Christmas tree at the sight of her.

 

“Annabeth!” Percy said as he was wiping one of the tables. “You came back! Told you you’d be a regular.” He slung the towel over his shoulder, his arm muscles flexing. “How are you?”

 

“Fine.” She walked with him to the counter. “Work is terrible.”

 

Percy chuckled. “It’ll get better.” He said and went behind the counter, practically shoving Grover. “So. What do you want?”

 

“Bagel?”

 

Percy blinked. “Which one?”

 

Annabeth shrugged. “Not sure. You pick for me.”

 

Percy smiled lopsidedly. “Coming right up.” He looked at her and her heart betrayed her by doing a tap dance. “Have a seat.”

 

Annabeth nodded mutely and sat on the nearest chair. She  _ tried  _ not to watch. But her eyes wandered to where Percy was making some sort of cream cheese spread. He then disappeared to the back and got a blueberry bagel. Annabeth’s mouth watered at the sight. 

 

He then spread the cream cheese spread on the two halves of the bagel and then popped it in the panini press.

 

Percy then delivered it to her in a brown paper bag with a coffee cup in his hand. “For Annabeth, a blueberry bagel with vanilla cream cheese spread.” He looked up. “That would be… um… two dollars? Yeah seems right.” Then he gave the brown bag to her. “And a hot soy latte, on the house because I felt like it.” He handed her the paper cup.

 

“Thanks.” Annabeth took the drink and the food. “You didn’t have to do the coffee thing you know.”

 

Percy shrugged.

 

“And how did you know I like soy lattes?”

 

“Lucky guess.”

 

“It was Rachel wasn’t it.”

 

Percy blinked then gave her a suspicious smile. “No.”

 

Annabeth raised an eyebrow at that and placed the coffee on the table. She took a bite of her bagel. It was still warm and the cheese went perfectly with the bagel. The saltiness of the cheese cut through the sweetness of the bread. It also wasn’t too doughy, it was… perfect. 

 

“Could do better.” That was what came out of Annabeth’s mouth. She internally smacked herself. What did she know about baking?

 

Percy blinked again, then he smiled. “Well Miss Architect, tell me what you know about the consistency of the dough and the flavors of cream cheese.”

 

Annabeth didn’t miss a beat. “I just tasted better.” She shrugged and took a small bite. 

 

“Hmm. Well I’ll take that into account.” He said and wiped his hands on his apron. “Anything else?”

 

She took a sip of the coffee and nearly melted in her seat. It wasn’t the best soy latte, but it went perfectly with the bagel. “No. That’s all.” She said.

 

“Well, I don’t want any bakery to take you and make me lose the chance of having a regular.” He smiled. “Anyway, I best be going.”

 

Annabeth glanced at her watch. She was supposed to stay for only five minutes. She ended up staying for ten. He eyes widened. “Me also.” She stood up and found herself inches away from Percy Jackson’s face. They didn’t back away for a second and his eyes dropped down to her lips for a split second. They moved away awkwardly.

 

“I’ll see you around?” He was blushing and goddammit he was cute. 

 

Annabeth prayed she wasn’t as red as she normally is. “Yeah.” She inhaled. “As long as you improve these bagels.”

 

Percy’s smile returned. “Sure.”

 

Annabeth walked out the door and wondered why her cheeks were so warm.

 

She also ignored Rachel’s grin when she walked in the museum, but she couldn’t ignore Rachel when she was right beside her.

 

“Dare. Go do your paintings or something.” Annabeth said as she gestured for the workers to move a statue a little to the left.

 

“Ouch.” Rachel smiled. “What’s got you so cold? You don’t wanna talk about a certain baker?”

 

“What baker?”

 

“Percy Jackson?” Rachel watched her for a response and got nothing. Annabeth was like a practiced Vulcan, she was able to school her face into an emotionless mask. “The cute baker in Sweet Neptune?”

 

“Who?” Annabeth at this point was using all her willpower to not think of that easy smile.

 

Rachel rolled her eyes. “Whatever. Anyway, yes I told him about soy lattes. Hope you liked it. He’s a good guy. And don’t worry, him and me are ancient history. We’re just friends now.” And with that, she walked away.

 

Annabeth wanted to say she didn’t dwell on it, but she felt happy about those last two sentences. 

 

…

 

She came back to the bakery all the time, and she was pretty sure it was only partially because of the pastries and the ambiance. It might have had something to do with the staff.

 

She and Jackson would engage in casual conversation everyday. To all the regulars, it was obvious that these two liked each other. They have never seen Jackson talk to anyone so frequently besides Grover until Annabeth. 

 

They found that even though they were polar opposites, they could potentially work well together. Percy couldn’t follow on complex architecture stuff, but he could get design. Annabeth couldn’t follow on baking techniques, but she could understand the chemistry.

 

In short, Percy and Annabeth were growing closer and closer to each other, even the distance between them agreed to that. 

 

-LINE BREAK-

 

**_THE NEXT MONTH..._ **

 

Percy was able to submit all the requirements and what not. He even closed down the bakery for a day (what a loss of revenue) and was filmed for the video that would be included in the episode. It took longer than expected because they expected some action shots. He was also able to compile his best works and send it on time (Thanks to Grover). 

 

It was the night before the show date and Percy and Grover were packing up. They had to be in the studio early, before 7AM. Percy made sure they had his best knives, and materials because he was better with familiarity. He could work with the not usual ingredients provided anyway. 

 

Percy also double checked with his Mom, Paul and his actual dad Poseidon, if they could take care of the shop. They all basically told him to buzz off and let them take care of it. 

 

Percy closed the last container and looked at Grover. “Run the plan through me again.”

 

Grover sat down on the floor and leaned against the wall. “Why?” 

 

“What do you mean why?” Percy sank down to the floor and connected his feet to Grover’s.

 

“Perce, we’ve gone through the plan around ten times.”

 

“Is there something wrong with eleven?” Percy asked, childishly moving his feet.

 

“Percy.”

 

“Fine fine.” Percy rolled his eyes and leaned back against the container. 

 

“We’ll do fine.” Grover nudged his foot and gave a playful smile. 

 

“I hope so.”

 

-LINE BREAK-

 

**_THE NEXT DAY..._ **

 

Annabeth was there the time before she was required to come, which meant she had to endure the make-up for longer than she had to. 

 

As lame as this would sound, she spent the past week researching on cakes and how to judge said cakes. She even binged a full season on her phone while she was drawing her designs for some parts of the Olympus hotel. 

 

She believed she was ready. Nothing could throw her off. 

 

An hour later (she was really early), the rest of them arrived. She stood up and shook their hands. One was a tall, athletic Latina woman with black hair in a single braid down her back. Her light brown skin was marked with some scars, probably from her adventures in the kitchen. Her dark eyes were piercing and seemed like she could kill you if she wanted to. She wore a simple button down cotton blouse tucked into high waisted jeans. She had a golden belt with an eagle buckle around her waist and her shoes were dark purple. It was simple, but she pulled it off well, especially since she had an amazing athletic frame. 

 

“I’m Reyna Avila Ramirez-Arellano.” The woman said. “But you can call me Reyna.” 

 

“I know.” Annabeth said. “I mean your name. I’ve watched some episodes.”

 

“Then you just know that my pallet is hard to satisfy.” Reyna gave Annabeth a smirk. 

 

Annabeth nodded. Reyna was a tough cookie to crack. She’s watched the most mouthwatering cakes not even get her stamp of approval, and the most perfect decorations getting frowned upon. 

 

“Don’t doubt the pallet of an architect.” Annabeth replied.

 

“Nor will I doubt the eye for design.” Reyna’s eyes sparkled with amusement. 

 

Annabeth shook the other judge’s hand. He was shorter than her and definitely younger. He had long, shaggy jet black that reached until his shoulders, but that somehow looked good on him. He had hungry dark black eyes that were a stark contrast to his pale olive (is that even a thing) skin. He looked like a foreigner, probably Italian. He was lean, so not as athletic looking as Reyna. He wore black ripped jeans, a black t-shirt and a brown aviator’s jacket. He had the pride flag pinned on the collar of his jacket. 

 

“Nicholas di Angelo.” He said. “You can me Nico.”

 

“You look younger in person.” Annabeth looked at him up and down. 

 

Nico sighed. “Everyone says that.”

 

“Even your boyfriend says that.” Reyna teased.

 

Nico death glared at her and she shrugged. Annabeth laughed. She was glad that the judges were friendly and not at all stuck-up, even if they did have an impressive list of credentials.

 

The make-up artists ushered the judges away to have their make-up done. 

 

As Annabeth was still chatting to the both of them, someone slammed open the door to the dressing room, causing only Annabeth to jump. Reyna just continued talking while Nico let out a loud, very audible sigh. 

 

“I see you’ve all been acquainted.” The person who just entered. “The Super McShizzle is here.” 

 

‘The Super McShizzle’ was a short, scrawny, impish Latino guy in a suit, typical of a host. However, his suit looked like it came straight out of Hamilton and his curly hair was all over the place. If anything he looked like a teenage revolutionary. He even had a sword strapped to his side and a toy shotgun on the other. He had a wicked smile on his face and eyes that told you he was a troublemaker, so Annabeth had to resist the urge to turn around and check if he did something to her seat. 

 

He walked up to Annabeth and shook her hand. “Hi I’m Leonidas Valdez, but you can call me Leo.” He put his hands on his hips. Then he pulled at the collar of his top with his left hand. “Man this thing is choking me.”

 

“Good.” Nico grunted as the make-up artist did his eyebrows. “Less talk.”

 

Leo stuck out his tongue at him. “I was hoping you’d say kinky.” 

 

Nico scowled. 

 

The latino laughed. “Anyway.” He smiled and turned to Annabeth. “Thanks for coming on the show. We’re on in ten. I just met with the competition.” He smiled even wider. “Gotta day, I have a feeling it’s gonna be tough.”

 

Annabeth smiles back. “I hope so. I’m feeling up for a challenge today.”

 

Leo winked at her and then sauntered out the dressing room. 

 

-LINE BREAK-

 

Percy and Grover arrived backstage and were immediately ushered to the main room where they were hastily fixed up. The make-up artist just covered up Percy’s blemishes and did an amazing job fixing his hair within three minutes tops. Grover got a similar treatment. They were then told where the mics were and how they shouldn’t hit them. (Knowing Percy that was a near improbability) 

 

Percy noticed the other competitors enter. The duo that was brought to the area beside him looked like twins. They both had curly brown hair and mischievous eyes, One however was shorter than the other. The other duo to his right looked like a couple. One was a younger girl with very curly brown hair and dark skin, and the other was a taller, buffer Asian guy with a buzzcut. The others were also sped through by the make-up department.

 

When they were done being harassed by the various employees, Percy walked up to them, well the younger girl and the asian guy. The brothers looked like they were scheming and they clearly did not want to talk unless it was to talk smack. (Though it might be fun if he tried).

 

The girl noticed Percy before he could say hi. “Hey!” She said with a smile. “You’re Percy right?

 

Percy blinked. “How do you…?

 

“Oh I’ve heard of your bakery. I think I’ve been umm… Sweet Neptune a couple of times.” The girl said with a warm smile. “I’m Hazel Levesque by the way.” She stuck out her hand. 

 

Percy smiled back and shook it. “Well you know who I am.” Percy looked at the Asian guy. If he wasn’t so tall and well-built, like Li Shang from Mulan, Percy would say he’d look like a cuddly panda bear. “And you are?” 

 

“Frank Zhang.” Percy shook his hand. “We’re from Wild Pastries.” Frank continued, giving the same warm and  _ soft  _ vibe as Hazel. 

 

“This is Grover and Tyson.” Percy gestured to Grover and Tyson and they shook their hands. 

 

“Pleasure.” Hazel said with a smile. “How did Phoebus drag you all into this?”

 

Percy laughed. “I just got an email. You?” 

 

“Well,” Frank looked at Hazel with a small smile. “He kind of strolled in posing as a critic.” 

 

“No way.” 

 

“Yeah. Can you believe him?” Frank rolled his eyes. “But yeah, that happened.” 

 

They all jumped at a loud crash and they whirled around. The brothers at the other end dropped a bunch of… well, Percy didn’t even know what those were. 

 

“Those are the Stolls.” Hazel said. “They’re like regulars on this show. Reigning champions of some sort.” 

 

Percy studied them. “Guess that makes them a big competition.” He winked at Hazel and Frank. “Not that ya’ll aren’t.” 

 

“You too.” Hazel replied. “Well. We’ll get back to prepping.” 

 

“Us too.” Percy said. “Good luck!”

 

“Good luck!” And they all returned to their respective stations.

 

\---

 

When Percy was out of earshot, Hazel whispered to her fiance. “Oh my God. He’s so hot.” 

 

“Hazel.” Frank said with a small frown. “You’re marrying me.”

 

“You’re not disagreeing.” 

 

“... okay fine point taken.” 

 

Hazel giggled and kissed Frank softly on the lips. “Don’t worry though. Win or lose, I got a surprise for you.” 

 

Frank’s ears turned red. It didn’t matter if it was innuendo or not, anything from Hazel, he enjoyed it. 

 

“Am looking forward to it.” 

 

\---


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi its been... literally forever so uh.... sorry for those waiting on me hahah :<< Hope you like this!

The lights dimmed and everyone was in their places. Bakers in front of their tables. Judges waiting at the back, Leo putting breath spray on all of them. 

The cameraman started filming. 

Leo came in from a door in the front. “Hello everyone!” He flashed a dazzling smile at the camera. “I’m your only favorite host, Leo Valdez! Today, we’re going for something… American themed. We’ll be celebrating patriotism and the opening of a new wing in the Museum of National History. The winners of this competition will have their cake tasted by war veterans, their families, soldiers and honored guests at the opening party tonight.” Leo smiled. “Let’s introduce our competitors!” 

“From Manhattan, owning Sweet Neptune, we have Percy Jackson, Grover Underwood and Tyson!” 

The camera pans to them and Percy nods with a winning smile. Grover and Tyson follow his suit.

“Next, from Brooklyn, the cutest couple owning Wild Pastries, we have Hazel Levesque and Frank Zhang!” 

The camera pans to them. 

The thing is, Percy could’ve just gone with Grover. The limit for teams is three members and the minimum is two, but he didn’t have the heart to leave Tyson.

“And our reigning champions, from Den of Sweets, Connor and Travis Stoll!” 

The camera pans to the brothers who have matching mischievous gins.

“Okay.” Leo winks at the camera. “As much as I want to steal all the spotlight. Let’s introduce our judges. First we have, the owner New Rome bakery. She made cakes for events such as the MET Gala, the birthday parties of the children of Gal Gadot, Chris Hemsworth, Mark Hamill and many more. She is Reyna Avila Ramirez-Arellano!” 

Reyna stepped out from the back and waved with grace. 

Grover visibly paled. “Reyna… she’s a legend.”

Percy blinked. “Would you believe that she’s a year younger than me?” 

“I would. I researched.” 

Percy hit Grover on the shoulder. 

“Next!” Leo snaps his fingers. “My least favorite person and your favorite emo. Co-owner of Night and Day Cake Shop with his boyfriend Will. He made cakes for Chris Pine, Sebastian Stan, Robert Downey Jr., Jennifer Lopez, and many more. He also won several international awards and is claimed to be one of the best along with Ms. Reyna over here. It’s Nico di Angelo everybody!” 

Nico comes out from the door and stops by Leo to whack him on the shoulder before proceeding to his seat. 

Leo laughs. “Anyway. We have a very special guest judge today! She’s the architect of Olympus Hotel and the daughter of the museum curator of the National Museum. She also designed the new wing of the museum. Please welcome, Annabeth Chase!” 

Percy’s breath stopped and his mouth fell open as Annabeth Chase came out from the back. She waved at the camera before taking her seat. She then made eye contact with Percy and her eyes widened. 

“Alright Bakers! Let’s start with the first round.” Leo cleared his throat. “You have to make an amazing cake. You have to blow the waters out of the judges- I mean blow the judges out of the water.” Nick face palmed in the back. “Whew that was weird. Anyway. You have to have at least four layers, and you have to use one different ingredient in each layer from the ingredients here.” The floor started opening under Leo and he jumped backwards. A table came out and there was a bunch of stuff covered in a black cloth. When the table fully rose, Leo pulled back the cloth and revealed the secret ingredients.

“Voila!”

Huhhhh??? Candy???? Grover internally wondered.

Candy!!!!! Percy’s eyes brightened. He saw the blue gummy sharks and couldn’t wait. He also saw the peppermint, the licorice, the cinnamon candies, the ginger bonbons, the chocolate… he couldn’t wait to get started. 

“You have four hours to do this. You can access the pantry at any time. Timer starts…” Leo raised his arm. “Now!” He brought it down and the bakers scattered.

—

“Annabeth?” Nico tapped her shoulder. 

“Yes?” Annabeth snapped back to reality. Her eyes were glued on Percy for the past ten minutes. He was working frantically, but not really rushing. There was a calm energy to him, as there was to the other bakers (well that was debatable though with the Stoll brothers).

“Do you… know Percy?”

“I…” Annabeth cleared her throat. “Yeah. Yeah I do.” 

“How?” Nico cocked his head to one side. 

“Well… I stop by his bakeshop and he chats me up.” Annabeth glanced back to see Percy working at the mixer. He looked pretty damn intimidating from where she was seated. His eyebrows were knitted and his eyes were so focused. 

Nico nodded and Annabeth took a sip of water. “He’s kinda cute isn’t he?”

Annabeth spluttered but managed to swallow. She could hear Reyna snicker. 

“I uh…” Annabeth shook her head. “He’s alright I guess.”

Nico shrugged. “Eh. Suit yourself. He’s definitely cute, but not my type.”

Annabeth chewed the inside of her cheek. He was definitely cute. Who knew that bakers could be so… endearing. 

—-

“Percy that’s-“

“Grover just go get the banana candy and we’ll start working on fixing that flavor.”

“Brother isn’t that the girl-“

“Tyson, I love you, but please get on that icing alright?”

Percy couldn’t afford to be distracted, and neither could his team. He wanted to win this thing. He wanted to get that 10K and also make his bakery even more popular. 

It was just a bonus that he’d be able to impress Annabeth. 

The cake they planned out was a blue cake, but the icing would be in a scallop style and hombre. The icing would just be whipped cream with a touch of lemon, as to not overpower the candy flavors inside but manage to cut through the sweetness of the cake. 

He figured he’d go the berry way, since they usually go together. And enough times at a candy store when he was younger let him know that all the berries in one go works. 

Though he can’t use only gummies because they only have a slight difference in terms of taste. So the team decided to use the strawberry hard candy and dark chocolate on one layer, blueberry pop rocks and vanilla in another, strawberry Kitkat in the third layer and lastly, banana candy (which tastes terrible, but nothing a bit of flavoring can’t fix) in the fourth layer. Percy hoped that the judges would understand his flavor combination, because strawberries, blueberries and bananas have been blended in a smoothie before. 

The team also decided that they can’t go dense. It had to be chiffon so that it would be lighter. Percy had strong feelings about really really sweet cakes that were dense. Like fruitcake. Percy makes fruitcake, but it doesn’t mean he has to like it.

Percy glanced up one time at the judges and saw Annabeth chatting with the other judges. He took in a deep breath and just took in her gorgeous profile then he went back to work. She’s really so pretty, and from the times they talked, he could really tell that she’s an intelligent person. 

Though he felt like she was going to be extra tough on him since she already knows what he can do. 

Focus Percy. You can flirt later, or talk, or whatever, just focus. 

Percy melted down the strawberry hard candy and mixed it with the cake batter Tyson made for him. Percy felt pride swell in his chest. Tyson was really really good at baking and Percy is so proud that Tyson found something he could do, and do well.

Percy added a bit of pink food coloring and then poured it in a pan. 

“Grover! Watch this cake okay. Only until it’s half baked alright?” Percy called out as he put the pan in the 350 F oven. 

“Got it Perce!” Grover replied. “Can you check out my lemon curd?” 

“Okay. Coming!” 

\---

“Travis!!!” Connor yelled from where was making the batter. 

“What?” 

“Did you add baking soda?”

“Why the fuck would I add baking soda?” Travis waved a chocolate covered spatula in his hand. “It’s powder you dumbshit!”

“I’m just checking! Jesus Christ!” 

…

“How’s your icing?” Connor asked.

“Pretty good.” Travis admitted with a smile. “Want to try?”

“Sure.” 

\---

“Do we have to stay here the whole four hours?” Annabeth asked at the end of the forty-five minute mark. While it was fun to watch them bake, her butt was also quite sore already and she was pretty antsy.

“No, not unless you want to enjoy the view.” Reyna teased. “You can always go in the back and get a snack or something. The camera men won’t film it anyway.” 

“Great because, I need to pee.” Annabeth stood up and went to the back to use the services. 

\---

“Hazel, we’re doing fine right?” Frank asked. 

“Ummm…” She had a streak of chocolate on her face. “Yeah. Yeah we’re good.” 

“... We’re a little behind aren’t we?” 

“Well, I would’ve prefered to have more than this done but-”

“Speeding up.” Frank nodded. “I got that.”

\---

The time came for the cakes to be judged. One by one, the cakes were brought to the judges table. 

For Frank and Hazel’s cake, it was good, albeit kind of messy, but they only integrated the chocolate, and the judges wished that they were more creative.

For Travis and Connor’s cake, the judges were impressed by the amount of effort they put and the mess of flavors that shouldn’t work together.

Then, it was Percy’s turn. 

—


End file.
